The acronym for Not in My Back Yard is a common lament among neighbors concerned about their property values whenever the threat of a "different" neighbor moving in is brought up.

David Glennie, a Salem City Councilor in the '90s and owner of Glennie Property Investments, tripped the NIMBY wire in December when he declared opposition to a municipal zone change and conditional-use permit being sought by the city.

Having developed and managed low-income housing tax-credit projects in Oregon, including the Broadway Place building in Salem, Glennie took issue with the city essentially anointing the Union Gospel Mission of Salem's plans to expand from about 150 beds to more than 300.

Glennie claims a larger shelter north of downtown would attract more homeless people to Salem in general.

We find his claim to be somewhat specious. While we disagree without first seeing evidence, the editorial board doesn't dispute some of Glennie's other concerns.

Among them is his question of whether the city is following its own codes.

Since the Union Gospel Mission of Salem is a charitable Christian nonprofit, it relies primarily on donations for its operations.

It is not a social services agency, and as such, we, alongside Glennie, ask how it will fund future operations of an enlarged shelter. Taking in more men to feed and house as it currently wrestles with the same issues for only about 150 now leads us to a sustainability question.

We also know from Statesman Journal stories that for homeless shelters to work, there have to be provisions for the chronically homeless, those battling addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, those in need of employment help and accommodation for those combating mental illness.

Without addressing these underlying issues, a larger facility is only a bandage.

Glennie says he's spoken to other interested North Downtown property owners, and they support his concerns.

In his letter to the Land-use Hearings Officer, Glennie wrote that the Salem Police Department has neither the necessary funding nor policies in place to help protect neighboring properties from theft, vandalism, urination, defecation, intimidation, profanity, trespassing, drug sales and Dumpster diving by individuals who appear to "have no interest in observing social order or respect for property."

We urge the city to give full attention to its North Downtown Riverfront Overlay Zone. Is Glennie correct that the new shelter would dominate it?

And is the plan inconsistent with the city’s Urban Renewal Plan, as he alleges?

If the URP is designed to create economic development opportunities along the riverfront, does a larger shelter fit with that design and accommodate both businesses and residents?

We wish neighbors would worry more about solutions for the homeless problem than what it means to their property values. But that is an emotional desire, not a practical one.

The city needs to ensure it doesn’t just move the problems associated with the UGM shelter from one block to another.